Cleveland Cavaliers: Takeaways from a loss to the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics finally got their revenge for being bounced by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Playoffs three of the last four years with a dominating 128-95 win.

Despite what the scoreboard suggests, the Cleveland Cavaliers were actually in this game in the first half against the Boston Celtics. The Cavs played good basketball for most of the first half thanks to strong starts from Tristan Thompson and Jordan Clarkson.

The game was tied with two minutes left in the second quarter when things started to unravel. Boston closed the half with a 15-5 run and took a ten-point lead into the break. That 15-5 run quickly snowballed into a 64-32 run as the Cavs weren’t able to stop the bleeding as this game got away quickly.

It still hurts to watch Kyrie Irving wear a Celtics’ jersey as he dominated his former team. Irving controlled every aspect of the game when he was on the floor as he finished with 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting with four rebounds and four assists.

Collin Sexton had a tough time staying with Irving on either end of the floor. The rookie put together arguably his worst game since becoming a starter as he had a tough time adjusting to Boston’s defense. Sexton finished with 15 points on just six-of-18 shooting with four rebounds, four assists, and three turnovers.

Alec Burks was the Cavs’ lone bright spot for the night. He had a solid showing in his first game as a Cavalier as he put up 15 points on four-of-11 shooting (but was seven-of-eight from the foul line), and also had six boards, four assists, and two steals.

Here’s what we learned from this one.